She saw Adrian in his immaculate suit, explaining in a clipped tone that her job was to clean, not to interfere. But Mariah’s eyes wandered to the staircase, where two little faces peeked out, their eyes full of suspicion. From the first moment, the twins tested her.
They knocked over vases, poured juice on the freshly mopped floor, and hit her cleaning supplies. Most would have scolded them, but Mariah didn’t. She saw the mischief for what it was, a cry for attention, a test to see if she too would leave like everyone else.
At night, she heard them talking to each other in whispers, their voices small and uncertain, asking if she would leave tomorrow. That was the moment something shifted inside her. She decided she wouldn’t just clean the house, she would try to reach the hearts hiding behind all that defiance.
Days turned into weeks. Mariah didn’t fight the boys’ mischief with anger, she fought it with patience. She learned that the older twin, Ethan, would act tough but secretly collected his mother’s old scarves, keeping them under his pillow.
The younger twin, Liam, would get into trouble to hide the fact that he couldn’t sleep at night without a lullaby. Mariah began to quietly do things no one had taken the time to do before. She’d leave little notes in their lunch boxes, simple words like, you’re stronger than you think or, your mom would be proud.
She started cooking meals the boys liked, even if it meant extra work. She found ways to include them in her chores, turning cleaning into little games so they could feel important instead of ignored. Adrian began to notice changes he couldn’t explain…
